1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a reversibly metachromatic toy. More particularly, it relates to a reversibly metachromatic toy having flexibility, free of fear for break or deformation, and happily and safely playable for infants.
2. Related Background Art
Some proposals have been disclosed in respect of picture books and toys having a thermochromic effect (see, e.g., Japanese Utility Model Publications No. 47-5619 and 63-43094 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-323049).
However, in the picture book disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 47-5619, polypropylene resin is used as a support or substrate, which has a high hardness and tends to break because of deterioration. Hence, such a picture book has had a low safety as a picture book for use in baths by infants. In the picture book disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-43094, a urethane foam covered with soft plastic film is used as a support, which therefore has flexibility, but is poor in durability, and has had a possibility that it breaks as a result of its long-term use or its contact with projections to come wet inside the film.
In the toy disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-323049, a thin platelike support is used in which a plastic sheet is laminated to the surface of a foamed material, which therefore has flexibility, but the support may warp with time because the plastic sheet is laminated to only one side of the support.